Henry Engelhorn
Henry Engelhorn, an enterprising farmer and stock-raiser of
Allamakee county, is a native of the county and was born on the
farm he now occupies, June 13, 1875. He is a son of Mathias
Engelhorn, a native of Germany, who was brought to America by his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Engelhorn. They were among the early
settlers of Lansing township, residing for many years upon a farm
adjoining the place now owned by the subject of this review.
Mathias Engelhorn grew to manhood there and afterward engaged in
farming on his own account, purchasing two hundred acres of land
slightly improved. The old log house which he erected upon his
holdings still stands but he later built a larger frame dwelling,
now occupied by his son. The father died upon this farm April 16,
1896. He had been twice married. His first wife was in her
maidenhood Miss Margaret Schmidt, by whom he had three children:
Abraham, who makes his home in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Sam, who
died in Oregon; and George, who passed away when he was a child.
Mathias Engelhorn’s second wife was Miss Dora Westphal, a
native of Germany, who died at the home of her son on the 7th of
March, 1911. She was the mother of six children: Henry, the
subject of this review; Elizabeth, the wife of Theodore Beyer, of
Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Bertha, who married J. W. Wendel, of Lansing
township; Emma, who died in childhood; Annie, the wife of Ben
Decker, of Church, Iowa; and Sophia, the deceased wife of William
Mueller, of Davenport, Iowa.
Henry Engelhorn spent his childhood on his father’s farm,
dividing his time between his studies at the district school and
the work upon the homestead. Having been reared upon a farm, he
naturally turned to agricultural pursuits for a life work and
after the death of his father purchased the interests of the
other heirs to the property and assumed the ownership and
control. He owns two hundred and twenty-two acres on sections 31
and 32, Lansing township, a valuable property with good
improvements all made by himself and his father. He is a
practical and progressive agriculturist and his well directed
labors have been rewarded by a substantial degree of success,
placing him among the men of prominence in this community.
On the 23d of December, 1902, Mr. Engelhorn married Miss Frances
Spieler, a daughter of Jacob Spieler, of whom further mention is
made elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Engelhorn became the
parents of three children: Clarence, who died in infancy; and
Walter and Oscar. The parents are members of the Congregational
church.
Mr. Engelhorn is one of the well known men of this township,
where his entire life has been spent and where his upright and
honorable qualities of character and his genuine personal worth
are known and honored. A republican in his political beliefs, he
has never sought to figure prominently in public life but in
business has proven capable and reliable, and his intense and
well directed activity is now bringing him a gratifying measure
of prosperity.
-source: Past & Present of Allamakee County; by
Ellery M. Hancock; S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.; 1913
-transcribed by Diana Diedrich
Return to 1913 biographies index